"Nine Songs" comes from Qu Yuan's "Chu Song", which is a representative work of Chinese classical literature. In 2013, commissioned by the Beijing International Music Festival, Pulitzer Prize winner and Chinese composer Zhou Long created the large-scale symphonic epic "Nine Songs", which attracted immediate attention.
"Can it be changed to a concerto for Erhu and orchestra?" Ten years later, Zhou Long received a call from Yu Long. After a year of intense work, the new version of "Nine Songs" debuted at the Beijing International Music Festival in October this fall.
One month later, on November 2, the Erhu and Orchestra Concerto "Nine Songs" came to Shanghai and was performed by Huang Yi. Different from the version performed in Beijing, the new version performed by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra adds traditional wind instruments such as bamboo flutes, Xiaos, and Xuns, making it richer in national color and richer in Chinese flavor.
Zhou Long
Yu Long, Zhou Long and Chen Yi
"This is a song without words"
"Nine Songs" has a total of 11 chapters, about 48 minutes long. The instrumental music replaces the original lyrics, showing the original poems in turn. story. "This is a 'song without words'." Zhou Long introduced.
Yunshen, Xiangjun, Mrs. Xiang, Shao Siming, Dongjun... National musical instruments such as erhu and bamboo flute appear alternately and play different musical images in different movements. In addition, Western musical instruments such as trombone, bassoon, and English horn also played roles such as Da Siming, He Bo, and Mountain Ghost, creating a musical dialogue between the East and the West along with national musical instruments.
Erhu plays an important role throughout the work, with Lu Yiwen taking on the solo role. "This is the longest erhu concerto in history. Not only does it require a high degree of mental concentration, but it also faces great challenges in terms of physical strength and endurance." At Lu Yiwen's feet lay the erhu and zhonghu - both are different in shape and tuning. , she has to constantly switch instruments and adjust her performance.
Over the years, Lu Yiwen has challenged herself to perform many new works. "When I get new works, my first reaction is: I can do it." Lu Yiwen is not afraid of difficulties and will not interfere with the composer, and will modify it according to her playing habits. "I will perform whatever the composer writes." She described herself as having obsessive-compulsive disorder and would strictly follow the music score, even to the smallest details.
Feng Tianshi brought the bangdi, big flute, qudi, new flute, Xiao and Xun from the flute family to the stage. The blowing method and embouchure of each instrument are different. She seems to be busier than Lu Yiwen, and she also has to quickly adjust the performance status in a short period of time.
"The two young people have excellent skills and are very powerful." Zhou Long hopes to bring out the best performance and status of national musical instruments, and the success of "Nine Songs" is inseparable from their performance.
"I have always heard about such a master-level figure in legends, but I never thought that one day we would meet face to face." This is how Lu Yiwen described his senior Zhou Long. "Teacher Zhou is very kind and cordial, and there is no sense of distance." Feng Tianshi said with a smile.
Lu Yiwen
Feng Tianshi
"Stop mythologizing us"
In 1978, Central Conservatory of Music resumed enrollment. Zhou Long became classmates with Chen Qigang, Ye Xiaogang, Tan Dun, Guo Wenjing, Liu Sola, Chen Yi, etc., creating the "myth of the composition department" that cannot be surpassed so far.
Before that, Zhou Long, a young man from Beijing, went to the countryside in Heilongjiang and drove a tractor for 5 years. "The tractor leaked air everywhere. After running in the field all night, I was covered in dirt." When he was admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music, Zhou Long was already 24 years old, and there were classmates in their thirties. When I first entered school, the school conditions were very difficult. The library was not even open, and the music scores were sealed and not yet put on the shelves.
In 1985, Zhou Long went to Columbia University to further his studies, and has lived in the United States for more than thirty years. From the Central Conservatory of Music to Columbia University, Zhou Long and Chen Yi were classmates and later got married. Today, both teach at the University of Missouri.
In 2009, commissioned by the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Zhou Long and Chen Yi co-composed the symphony "Humen 1839", which was premiered under the conductor of Yu Long. There are four movements, one person is responsible for two. When commenting on their works, the two spoke harshly to each other without mercy at all. "The relationship between husband and wife is too direct, which sometimes even makes people angry, but in the end they have to change it because they are telling the truth." Zhou Long said with a smile. .
In 2011, Zhou Long won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his first opera "The Legend of White Snake", becoming the first Chinese composer to win this award. In recent years, he has received hydrangea from all over the world and completed many commissioned works, such as "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" commissioned by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in 2019, which also drew materials from the treasures of traditional Chinese culture.
"Most of the students have experience of going to the countryside and working, and the life experience has accumulated nutrients for creation. In addition, we also attach great importance to traditional Chinese culture." 71-year-old Zhou Long tried to answer the reporter of The Paper about the outstanding achievements of his students. reasons, but he also hopes, "Don't always refer to our group of people as 'myths'. Young people are a bit breathless. Many young composers are growing up and are also very good."
Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
In 2011, Zhou Long won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his first opera "The Legend of White Snake", becoming the first Chinese composer to win this award. In recent years, he has received hydrangea from all over the world and completed many commissioned works, such as "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" commissioned by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in 2019, which also drew materials from the treasures of traditional Chinese culture.
"Most of the students have experience of going to the countryside and working, and the life experience has accumulated nutrients for creation. In addition, we also attach great importance to traditional Chinese culture." 71-year-old Zhou Long tried to answer the reporter of The Paper about the outstanding achievements of his students. reasons, but he also hopes, "Don't always refer to our group of people as 'myths'. Young people are a bit breathless. Many young composers are growing up and are also very good."
Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
